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Photographer Recreates Famous Portraits With John Malkovich As His Model

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Can you tell the differences between these two photos? While one is the original photo of the California migrant mother from the 1936 depression, the other is a recreation featuring none other than John Malkovich.

The serious this photo recreation is part of is called: “Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich: Homage to photographic masters.” Sandro Miller, a well-known and celebrated photographer, collaborated with Hollywood star, John Malkovich, to create the light-hearted collection. Some of the photo duplicates are hilarious, and others are nearly exact twins.

Working with Miller to create these shots, Malkovich had to step into a number of roles–both male and female. All of the original photos are famous in some way or another, meaning Malkovich and Miller had big shoes to fill. How do you think they did–can you see the differences?

You probably recognize at least some of the photos duplicated for this collection, as each one of them is well known for one reason or another.

Thanks to Miller’s excellent photography skills, each photo captures the same lighting, angle and even overall feeling of the original. Without Malkovich’s superb acting skills these photos would not never turned out so good. Malkovich plays a unisex model well; he is capable of imitating the look, the expression, and the overall characters featured in some of the world’s most famous photographs.

Original Photo: Gordon Parks, American Gothic, Washington, D.C., 1942

Sandro, the photographer behind the lens, has been taking pictures of people for more than 30 years. At the ripe age of 16, it was the work of Irving Penn that originally inspired Sandro to start taking photos.

Since then he has won many awards for his work. His clients include some of the biggest names in all industries, including Target, Wired, Forbes, GQ, Nike, Adidas, Pony, US Army, and MANY more. Sandro’s working relationship with Nikon has also helped bring about the latest technology capabilities into the professional photography world.

Sandro also uses his work to benefit charities such as, The American Heart Association, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Milwaukee, Arts For Life, AIDS Chicago, AIDS New Jersey, as well as Evan’s Life Foundation and more. With so many credits under his belt, it’s little surprise that he is known as one of the top 200 advertising photographers from all over the world.

Original Photo: John Lennon and Yoko Ono, 1980

John Malkovich does a great job portraying all types, and genders, for this series. He has plenty of practice acting, considering he has starred in over 70 motion pictures, including Places in the Heart and In the Line of Fire, which he received numerous Academy Award nominations for. The 60-year-old American actor, director, fashion designer, and producer sure has his hands full!

Original Photo: Jack Nicholson, London, 1988

Original Photo: Marilyn in Pink Roses, The Last Session, 1962

Is it just me or does something seem a lot less sexy about the “Marilyn” on the left?

Original Photo: Edward Sheriff Curtis, Three Horses, 1905

Original Photo: Che Guevara, 1960

Original Photo: Ernest Hemingway, 1957

Original Photo: Albert Einstein Stickout Out His Tongue, 1951

Malkovich sure makes a believable Einstein!

Original Photo: Mick Jagger “Fur Hood,” 1964

This is not the first time Sandro and Malkovich have worked together. In fact, the two have collaborated on a number of projects including a short film titled “Butterflies,” which won Sandro the Saatchi & Saatchi Best New Director Award at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity back in July of 2011.